Pedro Sánchez: "We will defend the welfare state tooth and nail"

Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his appearance before the Plenary Session in the Lower House of Parliament (Pool Congreso)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, underscored in Parliament the investment in public services made by the Executive over the last seven years throughout the national territory and vowed that he will defend the welfare state "tooth and nail" against cuts and adjustments for privatisation.

During his appearance in the chamber, Pedro Sánchez recalled that the Government has transferred a total of 300 billion euros in additional funds to the autonomous communities in recent years, which are responsible for matters of health, education, social services and dependency.

The leader of the Executive explained that this figure represents 47% more than what was invested by the previous government and includes, for example, the 40 billion euros allocated to healthcare, 91% more resources mobilised in education - with double the number of grants and 42,000 new places for children aged 0 to 3 - and the more than 8.1 billion euros invested in long-term care.

More transparency in health, education and dependency

President Sánchez denounced the "dismantling" of the welfare state in different regions and disassociated it from the economic investment made by the government: "It's not just a matter of financial resources; it's a matter of political and social commitment," he asserted, referring to the management of these resources by some regional governments.

In this context, the president emphasised the government's policy of collaboration with the regions to defend public services "with determination and forcefulness," and announced that the government will ask the regions to share their data on healthcare, long-term care, and education.

"We will be analysing them and making them available to the public so that we ourselves can also know where the public resources being transferred from the Government are going," President Sánchez asserted, concluding his speech with a passionate defence of "the Spain of the public sector."

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, appears before the Lower House of Parliament | Pool Congreso

"Spirit of agreement" for further legislation

During his appearance, President Sánchez also addressed the legislative situation in Parliament, whose work he vindicated by recalling the "extraordinarily extreme and unprecedented" circumstances that have occurred since 2018, among which he listed the COVID19 pandemic, the energy crises and natural disasters such as the La Palma volcano.

The president asserted that it is the policies approved in the Lower House, not absolute majorities, that bring stability, and he recalled that, despite all the aforementioned difficulties, the Government has managed to pass reforms in labour, education, and healthcare that "have improved people's lives" and has achieved levels of growth "like no other European economy."

Pedro Sánchez stressed that these achievements were made possible by "a clear commitment to consensus" and, therefore, reiterated his call for collaboration: "From this podium, ladies and gentlemen, I appeal to the parliamentary groups, I urge you to embrace this spirit of agreement, because the fate of many people depends on what is debated and approved here."

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, in the chamber | Pool Congreso

European Council: housing, climate change and Palestine

In the first point of his appearance, the president addressed the decisions taken by the European Council on 23 October. Pedro Sánchez highlighted here the need for new EU regulations that would allow member states to act in areas strained by rising housing prices; to prohibit speculative buying and selling and the sale of social housing to vulture funds, as proposed by the Government of Spain; and allocate a specific budget at the European level to the construction of affordable housing for young people.

The president then stressed the need to neutralise the climate emergency, which "kills and impoverishes our societies", by meeting the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040. He also defended the ecological transition as "the best driver for reindustrialising our economy" and concluded: "The Spanish model can be the model for Europe and the world.

With regard to the Palestinian question, also addressed at the aforementioned European Council, the head of the Executive announced that the Government will transfer an additional 46 million euros in socio-economic aid to the Palestinian National Authority and will be "constructive and vigilant" to ensure that "the agreements are fulfilled." "Spain will always stand with the Palestinian people and will always stand with the people of Israel," he added.

The deputies observed a minute of silence in honor of the former president of the Nuclear Safety Council, Donato Fuejo | Pool Congreso

Fight against corruption

Pedro Sánchez also referred during his appearance to the fight against "the scourge" of corruption, an issue on which, he said, the position of the government and his political party is "crystal clear and unequivocal": "Zero tolerance and full cooperation with the justice system", he said.

The president reviewed the measures adopted by the Executive in this area since 2019, among which he highlighted the expansion of the classification of criminal conduct between individuals; the incorporation into the legal system of the crime of illicit enrichment of public officials in 2022; the regulation of the protection of informants in 2023 or the implementation of the Action Plan for Democracy in 2024.

He also mentioned the State Plan to Combat Corruption, presented in July 2025, which was developed jointly with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and has already implemented 13 of its 15 measures. "We're not doing all this just to cover our tracks; we're doing it because we truly believe in democratic integrity," he concluded.

Non official translation